Home field: Levi’s Stadium
Coach: Kyle Shanahan
Offensive star: TE George Kittle
Defensive star: DE Nick Bosa
2021 Season: Lost, 20-17, to the Rams in the NFC Title Game.
Super Bowls: 1981, 1984, 1988, 1989
Greatest Player: WR Jerry Rice
Factoid: The 49ers have played in a record 16 NFC titles games
The 49ers and Cowboys don’t dislike each other. They disdain each other.
Yet fans of two of the NFC’s marquee franchises have something in common: They suffer from Super Bowl withdrawal. San Francisco hasn’t hoisted the Lombardi Trophy since 1994. The Cowboys haven’t touched it since 1995.
That’s where the similarities end. It couldn’t have been more clear than last season when San Fran went into Dallas and beat the Cowboys, 23-17, in a Wildcard Playoff game. The 49ers went on to lose in the NFC title game. The Cowboys haven’t been to the NFC title game in 27 years.
San Francisco seems poised to take the next step. Maybe.
This season will come down to how one huge decision plays out: Can QB Trey Lance take over for Jimmy Garoppolo and get the 49ers to the Super Bowl? Garoppolo led San Fran to the conference title game and by the time the season starts he could be starting in Cleveland for the suspended Deshaun Watson, or elsewhere.
Lance, the former FCS star at North Dakota State, has been given the keys to one of the elite franchises in the NFL. You’ve got to hand to GM John Lynch, coach Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers ownership for standing by their convictions.
San Fran is as talented a team as there is. There are playmakers galore on both sides of the line – Nick Bosa, Fred Warner and Charvarius Ward on defense; Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Elijah Mitchell on offense.
But in the NFL, circa 2022, it almost always comes down to quarterback play. Lance is the kind of dual-threat quarterback who makes plays that defenses can’t account for. He was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and had a season to learn.
Lance, however, didn’t play at a Power 5 school. He has yet to start an NFL playoff game and face the most pressure-packed moments. The 49ers don’t care if the Cowboys disdain them. Each franchise claims five rings. After this season, 49ers fans want the Cowboys to envy them.